December 1, 2017

In the 1990s, the Chrétien Liberals divested themselves of affordable housing, moving it onto the provinces’ and territories’ plates while simultaneously cutting transfer payments to those governments, making it more difficult to finance their new responsibilities. The result has been the loss of public (government-owned) and social (operated by non-profits and co-ops, often subsidized by government) housing through attrition. Much of what remains is in dire need of repairs. What’s left today of social housing was facing imminent closure, as long-term operating agreements were set to expire. Until the release of this strategy, it was quite unclear how much, if any, social housing would exist in Canada by 2040.